Police: World Cup match leads to stabbing

Denis J. O'Malley

Updated 10:42 pm, Thursday, July 10, 2014

DANBURY -- While millions of Brazilian soccer fans worldwide wept after Germany's 7-1 semifinal victory Tuesday in the World Cup, a dispute over the lopsided loss led to a stabbing at a city nightspot, police said.

Danbury Police Lt. Christian Carroccio said officers headed out to the Copacobana Cafe on Ives Street about 11:30 p.m. after a report of a stabbing.

Once officers arrived, they found a 29-year-old city man who had been stabbed by another man. The victim, who was not identified by police, was taken to Danbury Hospital where he was treated for his injuries and released.

As officers investigated the incident, they learned the stabbing ended a dispute over the World Cup semifinal match between Germany and Danbury favorite Brazil.

As with previous World Cup tournaments, Danbury has seen impromptu parades on Main Street after Brazilian victories, with honking car horns, Brazilian flags waving out of open car windows and cheering fans draped in yellow and green.

In Danbury, about 5.6 percent of the city's nearly 81,000 residents claim Brazilian ancestry, according to the 2012 American Community Survey by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Brazilian Consulate in Hartford last year estimated that only 40,000 of about 70,000 Brazilians who once called Connecticut and Rhode Island home still remain, many of them in Danbury.

But on Tuesday, where there would have been revelry after a win, the ugly loss led to violence a few hours later. Police did not indicate whether the victim was of Brazilian heritage or if his assailant was believed to be.

Police have asked anyone with information about the male assailant at the Copacobana Cafe to contact city detectives at 203-797-4662.